Siza Matters

The Architect’s Newspaper has a first look at Pritzker Prize–winning Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza’s first United States project, a 34-story, 400-foot ultra-luxury residential tower in Midtown Manhattan.

New York–based luxury real-estate development firms Sumaida + Khurana and LENY commissioned Siza to build 611 West 56th Street in Hell’s Kitchen. The tower will have 80 units and will feature a landscaped roof garden, a sun deck, and several private terraces. It will also feature amenities such as a private swimming pool, state-of-the-art spa and fitness center, children’s playroom, screening room, and an entertainment space.

“Álvaro Siza is one of the world’s most celebrated architects. We are honored to be working with Siza on his first building in the United States and believe that this project will capture the elegance and profound subtlety that is at the heart of his work. His sensitivity and collaborative mentality is teaching us as much about humanity as architecture,” Amit Khurana, founding partner at Sumaida + Khurana, said.

The building will be a new project type for the architect, as he has built only one other similarly tall tower, the 519-foot-tall New Orleans tower in Rotterdam, Netherlands. This new tower, however, is more subtle and refined, akin to Siza’s early structures like the Boa Nova Tea House and Piscinas de Marés in Portugal. The design for 611 West 56th Street features a subdued crown that tops an elegant gridded base.

The tower will be the second project in Sumaida + Khurana’s portfolio of seminal buildings built by renowned architects with a particular attention to detail and craft. The other was 152 Elizabeth Street, the first New York building by Japanese architect Tadao Ando.

Michael Gabellini and Kimberly Sheppard will work with Siza to design the building’s interiors. New York–based SLCE Architects will serve as the architect of record. Construction will begin summer 2016, and the building is expected to be complete in 2019.